Klara and the Sun Pairs Chopin and Vivaldi With Pop and Punk

Taika Waititi's film Klara and the Sun reached cinemas on Friday, 23 October, and its soundtrack covers a lot of ground. Classical pieces sit beside indie pop, rock and a 1970s sci-fi score, according to Deadline, which published the song list on 23 October.

The film is based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It follows Klara, a solar-powered robot known as an Artificial Friend, who wants nothing more than to find the perfect home. Jenna Ortega plays Klara. Amy Adams plays Chrissy, the mother of a girl named Josie, who is played by Mia Tharia. The cast also includes Natasha Lyonne, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi and Rachel House.

The music list is wide. Frederic Chopin's Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor (Posthumous) and Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria in D major, RV 589, Qui tollis peccata mundi both appear. So does Lesley Gore's 1965 hit "Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows," a bright contrast to the slower classical cues.

Contemporary tracks make up the rest of the mix. Owen Chaim wrote and performs "Straight Jackin Fools." Television contributes "Days," DecadeZ "Okay," and Disasteradio "Believe in Yourself." The Violent Femmes' "Good Feeling" is also on the list, as is "Fistful of Love" by ANOHNI and the Johnsons.

One older track stands out. "Mandala" comes from the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Stomu Yamashta wrote and performed it. Its inclusion links the new film to a science-fiction story about an outsider, a theme that also runs through Ishiguro's novel.

The score itself is by Michael Giacchino, according to Variety. Giacchino's music sits alongside the licensed songs, so the film's sound moves between original composition and existing recordings.

The film also had a public preview. Its trailer debuted at CinemaCon, the cinema owners' trade show, in April 2026, as The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time.

The running time is 1 hour 56 minutes, per The Hollywood Reporter. For anyone planning a trip to the cinema this weekend, that is a fairly short evening.

For many viewers, the soundtrack list may be the easiest way to find the film's mood. Chopin and Vivaldi offer calm, while the pop and punk cues bring a lighter tone. Anyone who wants to hear the songs can start with the tracklist and work through it.